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ragnatela's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Still, I secretly believed I could sing. My only evidence was the pleasure singing brought me. Most common mistake in the world, believing that physical pleasure and virtue are in any ways related, directly or indirectly.
I don’t know read many short stories, but maybe I should to it more often. For sure I loved these: every detail seemed in the right place and there for a reason, perfectly shaping the characters and their history.
Usually I don’t underline anything in my books, but in this case I had the temptation to do so.
(February 2024)
johnnymacaroni's review
5.0
Such haunting stories. My only problem is I wanted all the stories to continue.
krobart's review
4.0
See my review here:
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2015/11/09/day-803-thunderstruck-and-other-stories/
https://whatmeread.wordpress.com/2015/11/09/day-803-thunderstruck-and-other-stories/
amysbrittain's review
4.0
McCracken is a fantastic writer who highlights odd, strangely beautiful elements in small moments. Each of the stories in this collection builds from a loss of some kind. Maybe it was me, or more likely this was a deliberate shaping by McCracken and her editor--the early stories felt more bleak and the later ones offered a little more hope or at least acceptance.
balletbookworm's review
5.0
So good. The writing, so beautiful. Dying, dying, I die. I am dead from the awesomeness.
(Also I met Elizabeth when she was in town for the summer writers conference. She's so great (I was sort-of a stalker-person for which I apologize!)!)
(Also I met Elizabeth when she was in town for the summer writers conference. She's so great (I was sort-of a stalker-person for which I apologize!)!)
pattydsf's review
3.0
“I’m so sorry,” he said, because after Pamela died, he promised himself that if anyone told him the smallest, saddest story, he would answer, I’m so sorry. Meaning, Yes, that happened. You couldn't believe the people who believed that not mentioning sadness was a kind of magic that could stave off the very sadness you didn't mention – as though grief were the opposite of Rumpelstiltskin and materialized only at the sound of its own name.”
To me, McCracken appears to be an author who uses her real life as part of the writing process. I am not saying that she once knew a very tall boy (see The Giant’s House), but that there are times when I am reading her writing that I see glimpses of real life. This may all be my imagination. Maybe it is because I have read her memoir, An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination. I know that readers often see things that authors did not write.
I am mentioning my impressions because I felt grief so strongly in these stories. If I had lost a child, as McCracken did, grief would tinge my life forever. These stories are amazing. They were wonderfully written. However, I took my time reading them because I found the grief hard to take at times. There was so much sadness.
It was an accident that I came across this collection and I am happy for serendipity. I didn’t know I had been missing McCracken’s way with words until I found her again. However or whatever way that these stories came about, I am grateful for them and look forward to reading McCracken’s next book.
To me, McCracken appears to be an author who uses her real life as part of the writing process. I am not saying that she once knew a very tall boy (see The Giant’s House), but that there are times when I am reading her writing that I see glimpses of real life. This may all be my imagination. Maybe it is because I have read her memoir, An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination. I know that readers often see things that authors did not write.
I am mentioning my impressions because I felt grief so strongly in these stories. If I had lost a child, as McCracken did, grief would tinge my life forever. These stories are amazing. They were wonderfully written. However, I took my time reading them because I found the grief hard to take at times. There was so much sadness.
It was an accident that I came across this collection and I am happy for serendipity. I didn’t know I had been missing McCracken’s way with words until I found her again. However or whatever way that these stories came about, I am grateful for them and look forward to reading McCracken’s next book.
nssutton's review
4.0
I've long enjoyed McCracken, going so far as to read The Giant's House twice because I'd forgotten I'd read it before. (I loved it even more the second go round). But it is hard to come back to her after reading An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination. It was a beautiful, haunting, utterly terrifying read and I felt it lurking on every page of Thunderstruck, which is equally lovely and sad. Each story seems to focus on that grey space that appears in the wake of a tragedy.
I liked "Juliet" the most, but suspect that's because it was set in a public library and rang so true of my own experiences there and made me long for that sense of community and how you get (mostly unwillingly) caught up in the lives of your patrons. I liked "Thunderstruck" for the pacing and level of emotion. Even the story I liked least - "Peter Elroy" - ended with a fantastic line.
I liked "Juliet" the most, but suspect that's because it was set in a public library and rang so true of my own experiences there and made me long for that sense of community and how you get (mostly unwillingly) caught up in the lives of your patrons. I liked "Thunderstruck" for the pacing and level of emotion. Even the story I liked least - "Peter Elroy" - ended with a fantastic line.
jenbenjenben's review
5.0
Are you one of those people (like I was) who just doesn't like short stories? Let this book change your mind. So quietly beautiful.
keight's review
5.0
Is it really possible that I didn’t read any short story collections in 2015? This is a great one to rekindle an appreciation of short fiction, solid tales with a sense of humanity and a droll flavor. Read more on my booklog
elnechnntt's review
4.0
Short story writing is an art form of itself and it seems McCracken might be a master. Each story contained was engrossing and complete and I couldn’t put the book down until I got to the final
line of the story I was reading.
An impressive collection with exceptional narration.
line of the story I was reading.
An impressive collection with exceptional narration.